Known for its vibrant international community, The Storm King School is also home to one of New York’s finest high school Model UN teams. After a successful conference in Boston earlier this year, this small but dedicated group of students traveled to New York City to demonstrate their knowledge and skills at the 2020 National High School Model United Nations Conference (NHSMUN). The conference was held at the Midtown Hilton Hotel on February 28 – March 2, 2020.
The largest high school conference in the world, NHSMUN is known for its diverse and prestigious attendees, world-class staff, proven substantive excellence, and accurate, engaging committee simulations. The event hosts over 3,500 participants from more than 30 countries each year. The conference also provides students the opportunity to interact with high-profile United Nations delegates and gain insight into the challenges of international diplomacy. This year, SKS students formed five teams of two representing the delegation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and one student who represented France.
Storm King’s History & Social Sciences Chair Michael Hauser, who has been mentoring the students all year, was very pleased with his team’s performance: “The Storm King community can be very proud of our student-delegates. They were prepared, motivated, and showed considerable intelligence and insight regarding the tough issues addressed in each committee and they represented their countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina and France extremely well,” explained Mr. Hauser.
The students were also happy to have the extra support of SKS faculty and alumni including Mr. Gillett along with Sele Birchwood ’09 and Lynn Crevling ’72 who observed them during the conference. During their final day in New York City, the team was also treated to lunch at a nearby restaurant by Sele and joined by fellow alumnus Matt LeFebvre ’94 with his wife Laurel and baby Asher. “This year’s conference was a great experience for all. With so many young team members, I’m looking forward to their repeat performances next year,” continued Mr. Hauser.
The SKS Model UN Team was comprised of the following committees and delegates:
Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations: Theresa Gormley ’22 and Anora Mahin ’22, Peacekeeping operations and the environment and government and community relations with peacekeepers in Africa
Historical Security Council Committee: Seth Vieira ’22 represented France, Apartheid in South Africa and the UN Security Council
Disarmament and International Security Committee: Pierce Pramuka ’20 and Sophia Grausso ’20, Private contractors on the battlefield
International Fund for Agriculture Development: Vincent Iannuzzi-Sucich ’24 and Scout Zischke ’22, Infectious disease and agriculture
Social Humanitarian and Cultural Committee: Edward Iannuzzi-Sucich ’23 and Trey Lawrence ’22, Combatting racism and xenophobia
UN Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Committee: Sam McCullough ’20 and Alex Neighbors ’22, Preventing violent extremism caused by religious intolerance